Message Received, Carl Hagelin Picked Up What Anaheim Ducks Coach Boudreau Put Down
Anaheim Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau is not one to shy away from sending a message to his players. Whether it be Corey Perry or Max Friberg, Boudreau has always been one to let his guys know what he thinks of their performance.
Just ask Carl Hagelin, who played a career-low 5:31 last Friday in the Ducks 4-1 loss to the Islanders.
Hagelin was not good in that game, he held a -1 rating after two periods and his first shift of the third period resulted in another Islanders goal. That would end up being Hagelin’s final shift of the game, he was benched.
From a possession standpoint Hagelin was the Ducks worst player in that game as well. Just 27% possession translated on ice performance to paper.
Just one shift in the third period for Hagelin, message delivered by Boudreau.
After that game, Hagelin told the Orange County Register’s Eric Stephens, “Yeah, of course it stings but it’s something that I did to myself.”
More from Ducks News
- Who could the Anaheim Ducks consider presenting offer sheets to?
- Is Pierre-Luc Dubois on the cards for the rebuilding Anaheim Ducks?
- Making the case for the Anaheim Ducks to trade with the Edmonton Oilers
- Anaheim Ducks might benefit tremendously by trading John Gibson
- How close are the Anaheim Ducks to becoming contenders again?
Well, something appeared to have clicked after that game for Hagelin. Last night he was a different player, he was flying around the ice and looked like the guy who had scored 17 goals the past two seasons.
Hagelin was named the first star of the game in Carolina and factored into three of the Ducks four goals with a goal and two assists. Hagelin played over 14 minutes and improved to 44% possession in the game, which doesn’t really relay how dominant he actually was.
In the third period of last night’s win after Hagelin scored the insurance goal, assistant coach Paul MacLean patted him on the back as a sign of encouragement. Soon after, Boudreau patted Hagelin on the back and leaned over to tell him something, a sign that Boudreau was happy with Hagelin’s bounce back game.
It was clear that Hagelin received the message Boudreau was trying to deliver. He needed more out of Hagelin and that is exactly what he got.
Message received as Hagelin picked up what Boudreau was putting down.
Next: Anaheim Ducks 4 Game East Coast Road Trip Begins
Like him or not, Boudreau knows how to get to his players. He’s a no B.S. kind of coach and Carl Hagelin’s situation makes that clear. Now it may be time for Boudreau to deliver a message to another slumping Swede, Jakob Silfverberg.